1. Re-emergence of human T-lymphotropic viruses in West Africa
- Author
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E. E. Ella, Aghogho Ohwofasa, M. Aminu, and Nneoma Confidence JeanStephanie Anyanwu
- Subjects
Male ,0301 basic medicine ,Microbiology (medical) ,T-lymphotropic viruses ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Epidemiology ,viruses ,030231 tropical medicine ,lcsh:QR1-502 ,MEDLINE ,ATLL ,Deltaretrovirus ,HTLV in West Africa ,lcsh:Microbiology ,lcsh:Infectious and parasitic diseases ,West africa ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Risk Factors ,Seroepidemiologic Studies ,immune system diseases ,hemic and lymphatic diseases ,Prevalence ,medicine ,Humans ,lcsh:RC109-216 ,Deltaretrovirus Infections ,Routine screening ,Transmission (medicine) ,Blood transfusion ,virus diseases ,Virology ,Seroindeterminate individuals ,Africa, Western ,030104 developmental biology ,Infectious Diseases ,Geography ,Search terms ,Virus type ,Female ,Worldwide distribution ,HAM/TSP - Abstract
Human T-lymphotropic viruses (HTLV) are Deltaretroviruses that infect millions of individuals worldwide via the same transmission routes as HIV. With the aim of exposing the possible re-emergence of HTLV in West Africa since discovery, a systematic review was carried out, focusing on the distribution of the virus types and significance of frequent indeterminate reports, while highlighting the need for mandatory routine blood screening. Capturing relevant data from discovery till date, sources searched were Google Scholar, CrossRef, NCBI (PubMed), MEDLINE, Research Gate, Mendeley, abstracts of Conferences and Proceedings, organization websites and reference lists of selected papers. A total of 2626 references were initially retrieved using search terms: Worldwide prevalence of HTLV, HTLV in Africa, HTLV in West Africa, HTLV subtypes, HTLV 3 and 4 in Africa, HTLV of African origin, HTLV seroindeterminate results, Spread of HTLV. These references were rigorously trimmed down to 76. Although evidence shows that HTLV is still endemic in the region, West Africa lacks recent epidemiological prevalence data. Thorough investigations are needed to ascertain the true cause of indeterminate Western Blot results. It is imperative that routine screening for HTLVs be mandated in West African health care facilities. Keywords: HTLV in West Africa, Worldwide distribution, Epidemiology, HAM/TSP, Seroindeterminate individuals, Blood transfusion, ATLL
- Published
- 2018